Shorebird of the Week – June 6, 2013

Sometimes the Shorebird of the Week has to be a good story, and Tucker Nathans has a story of perseverance and taking the road less-traveled to the point where he finds himself now.

Many small-college players find themselves overlooked by pro scouts, but over the last couple decades the extended tryouts known as independent leagues have popped up around the country, giving both overlooked players and those who believe they still have something to prove an opportunity to attract notice. Since Nathans went to Fairfield University in Connecticut – not exactly a hotbed of big league talent, although a handful of players have come from that school and played professionally – the route he chose to take took him through two seasons of independent baseball, primarily with the Newark Bears of the Can-Am League, a loop of teams in the Northeast and Canada.

Nathans attracted the notice of the Orioles after two seasons with a total of four teams (Newark, Brockton, Florence, and a traveling team called the NYSL Federals) where he hit .279/6/45/.743 OPS over 109 games in 2011 and 2012. Once he secured a tryout with the Orioles – a team which has seemed to dig deep for talent in the independent leagues over the years, including big leaguer Lew Ford last year – Tucker did well enough to secure a spot with the Shorebirds as a bench player.

But after a slow start in April, more regular playing time has allowed Tucker to lead the Shorebirds with 6 home runs and be second with 24 runs batted in. His .248 average isn’t exactly eye-popping, but a .782 OPS is pretty good and his versatility has seen Tucker play five positions thus far for Delmarva, along with seven turns as the designated hitter. Nathans has played the most in the outfield, but has served at second base, shortstop, and third base.

At the age of 24, Nathans is probably considered a little old for the SAL and likely isn’t high up on the Oriole prospect list. Most players in his situation fall into a category dubbed “organization players,” the guys drafted at the tail end of the draft or signed off the street to fill the rosters at the lower levels. But Tucker draws a paycheck from a major league organization, which is something almost all of those he played with over the last two years cannot say. In that respect, he’s already playing with house money and it will be interesting to see how far Nathans can take this opportunity.